Something Borrowed
by dcandthebirds112446
Summary: But on some level, she knew exactly what she was doing. She knew she was about to sleep with the man she had loved and let slip out of her hands. And she was ready to accept it.But there was one crucial fact. One Word. 'Kori'
1. I Don't Know Why

**Starting a new story I know I shouldn't be but I am. Don't worry, I'm working on Bride Wars 2 too, so that has not been abandoned. As a matter of fact, I will try to have something finished for you by Thanksgiving Friday! I hope you enjoy this story. And as I say with all the movie fics I post up here, go watch it. But go watch it with your best friend this time. Watch it and talk to them about everything and anything you know they should.**

**DISCLAIMER!: I DO NOT OWN TEEN TITANS OR SOMETHING BORROWED! But I enjoy Emily Giffin's work. And I can't wait for Something Blue!(If they make it.)**

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><p><strong>Outside the NightClub<strong>

Rachel could hear the music inside the nightclub. It was loud and obnoxious. She really didn't want this party. But for her best friend Kori's sake, she played along and decided to show to her own surprise party. What kind of friend would she be if she didn't show up? And anyway, she could blend in and sooner or later Kori would be too drunk to notice she wasn't mingling at her own twenty sixth birthday party. The night air stung her face and as she wiped it away she remembered to try and look shocked she even knew it was being thrown in the first place.

"Here we go." Rachel commented. She walked down the red carpet practicing surprised faces. As she walked she tried multiple clichéd sayings. "Oh my god?" with her hand over her mouth. "Ugh. Doesn't even sound like me." she mumbled. "Oh wow. Amazing!" she tried again before shaking her head no and stepping inside. She entered the dark room and called out slowly, "Hello?"

"SURPRISE!" everybody's shouts bombarded her at once. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY RACHEL!" The lights flicked on and revealed the entire night club and all of Rachel and Kori's friends.

"Gotcha!" Kori called out and wrapped a bright green feather boa around their necks. She wore a white mini dress with a missing back. Her black heels clicked as she jumped excitedly. Her long red hair was flipped to one side and held there with a lot of bobby pins. "I know you told me not to but I had to! I had to. It's your twenty sixth!" Rachel offered a small smile and shrugged. "You're not mad are you?"

"What? No. Of course not." she said unconvincingly. "It was…. sweet."

"Great! But were you surprised?" she asked too excited to notice her lack of enthusiasm. "Admit it we all got you!"

"Yeah I was surprised." she lied smoothly.

"Great now go get changed and lets all party!" Kori yelled and fueled the start of the celebration.

Rachel headed to the bathroom where she found a black dress hanging with her name taped on it. Her hair was already straightened so she pulled her bangs back with spare bobby pins to make a bump on top. The dress fit and hugged her body. It was strapless going down to the knee. It dipped just a little bit in the front, so Rachel pulled a small half jacket over it. She fixed the diagonal ruffles in the front so they were looser. She was zipping it up when she heard the door start opening. "Someone's in here." she tried to push the door closed.

"Hey!" Roy yelled in pain. "Ow. Its just me."

"Oh. Sorry." she let him in.

"Wow. You really put your back into it." He stepped in fully and closed the door behind him. He was wearing a light green silk material shirt with dark jeans. His hair was combed and styled perfectly. Not surprising considering he loved his hair like it was a child.

"Roy. What are you doing here? They call it the ladies room for a reason."

"What?" he asked innocently. "I saw you coming in here, looking all tragic, and I decided to check for razor blades."

"Please. You're not in here for me. You're dodging Kitten." she caught on. "See what happens when you sleep with people you don't love?"

"Hey that's offensive."

"Have I ever given a crap about offending you?" she smirked but struggled to zip up her dress. "Could you please zip me up?" he did so as she lifted her hair up granting him easier access. "Why don't you just go talk to her?" she asked.

"Rachel, she's insane." he looked at her seriously before they walked out.

"Speak of the devil." she teased.

"What?" he asked not sure of what she meant. Kitten fixed her shoulder-less long sleeved hot pink crop top and white mini skirt and made a beeline to him. Her hair was slicked back and her blue eyes pushed 'trying too hard sexy' to the other side of the room.

"Hey there stranger."

"Good God." he said quietly.

"Where have you been all night?" she tried to trace his chest but he promptly stopped her and moved closer to Rachel.

"Oh just…" he looked to Rachel for help, but she looked away, " hiding." he said finally.

"Hiding!" Kitten laughed obnoxiously and slapped his arm. He and Rachel laughed awkwardly along as the music played. "Its so, chaotic in here. Do you want to just go somewhere more…. intimate?"

"Nope. I'm good with the party and the music and chaos." he said trying to walk away.

"Yeah. Me neither. I love chaos. Oh." she stopped him "I want you to see me drop it like its hot!" she pulled him by his collar towards the dance floor.

"Oh that's um….." he looked back to Rachel desperately.

"Talk to her." Rachel mouthed. She looked around and spotted Richard standing alone and drinking something. His icy blue eyes were focused on other things and she could tell. She always had a knack for reading him. He blew out some air, probably bored, and that was when she decided to keep him company. She started to walk over to him, but before she made it all the way over, he turned and met her eyes. They met in in the middle.

"It was very nice of you." he commended.

"What was?" she asked hoping she hadn't been caught.

"Pretending to be surprised." he smiled.

"Please don't tell her. I'll never hear the end of it." she pleaded.

"I won't but-" All of a sudden a man with dark brown hair and brown eyes to match walked over. He had shorts and a blue Hawaiian shirt on, "Hey Birthday girl."

"Please don't call me that." she blushed.

"You are really smokin' hot when you blush." he said forwardly.

Richard cleared his throat. "This is Jason. He's a new co worker."

"I work in the post office part of the law firm."

"Ah." she shook his hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Oh gotta go, hot blonde." he walked by them and put his hand around said hot blonde.

"Wow." she said simply.

"Yeah I know, he's-" Richard started to apologize but was cut off by Kori on the stage with a microphone.

"Attention! Everybody, I've got an announcement to make, and I know you're going to want to hear it." Kori called from the stage.

"Huh, center of attention that's weird." Roy said sarcastically. Rachel hit him and told him to be nice.

"Okay first of all I'd like to remind everyone, that Richard and I are engaged. We will be married in 61 days. And in honor of that I should tell you, its not my first marriage." She pointed to the screen that showed slideshows of Rachel and her together. Everybody 'aww'ed. "That's right, Rachel and I go way back. We did everything together. Sleepovers, karate, and of course our school talent show dancing to Push-It where we should have placed first. But you know whatever." The crowd laughed. "We shared everything. Including Roy!" A picture of the three in junior high school popped up. He accompanied both girls to a dance in sixth grade.

"Oh god. Why am I in there?" Roy asked embarrassed. Rachel stifled a laugh.

"It was us against the world. That is until we graduated high school and she ditched my ass for some stupid law school." the crowd laughed. "Despite the fact that I turned down my acceptance to _Notre Dame._" the crowd 'awed' "Because for some reason they didn't let _her_ in." Roy shook his head but Rachel didn't catch it. "But it all worked out because she ended up going to Gotham University where she met my soon to be husband and introduced us." Rachel smiled a little bit towards Richard who returned it. "And all I can remember thinking, when he proposed was, 'I wish Rachel was here sharing another milestone in my life.'"

"I'm sorry, who are we celebrating again?" Roy asked quietly but visibly annoyed that Kori was discussing herself, her favorite topic, at Rachel's ceremony.

"Shhh." Rachel hushed him.

"I mean, Rachel to say you are my best friend, is the understatement of the century." she looked her dead in the eyes. "You are the sister I never had. The mother, I often really do need and the reason I can fly without fear of falling is because you are always there. You are always _always _there. I love you Rachel."

Rachel mouthed an honest, "I love you too."

"Happy 26th! I'm so glad its not me yet!" Rachel rolled her eyes and the audience cheered. "Lets party!" she yelled.

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><p>Within a few hours she was on the bar dancing and people cheered her on excitedly. Roy smirked and turned to see Jason there with a questioning look on his face.<p>

"So. Are you guys…?" he trailed off nodding to Rachel who was a few yards away talking to her friend Karen.

"Together? No." he shook his head

"No? Have you guys ever…..?" he make sexual innuendo with his hands.

"Nope." he shook his head again, a little bit disturbed.

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><p><strong>10 Minutes Later<strong>

Dick walked over to Rachel with Kori slumped over his shoulders. He was trying his best to be patient with the whiny drunk woman that replaced her whenever booze was near.

"Rachel. Tell him to let me stay!" she slurred "I'm the one who threw the party. I'm the one who did it." Rachel didn't have time to respond as she threw an arm around her. "I love you."

"I love you too Kori."

"Did you like it?" she asked like a little child.

"I loved it." she reassured her. It wasn't completely true but it made _her_ happy. They hugged and she hung her head down as she slid out of it.

"Oh my god." she snickered. "Remind me to get you some new shoes. I just hate your shoes so much." she slurred.

"Okay. Time to go." Richard interrupted before Kori could say anything else.

"They're just so ugly! I don't even understand why you would even think to buy those shoes!"

"She'll call tomorrow." he brought her out.

Over time the room cleared and Roy and Rachel were left outside trying to hail a cab. He whistled and waved his hand to no avail.

"You know whistling doesn't help. I just like to do it." he joked.

"I feel old. Not older, just plain old."

"Rachel you're not old. Okay? You're 26."

"I'm serious! I'm already in my prime child bearing years."

"Fine. Ten second pity party." he held up his watch. "Go."

" Roy! I'm serious!" she repeated herself. "I've wasted so much time. And I hate my job sometimes. Most of the time. I mean I don't even know why I went into law."

"Okay first of all, you went way over your time limit, second of all, you didn't waste time. You just grew up faster than all of us."

"Why won't _you _marry me?" she joked turning her head.

"I like you too much." he answered back earning a laugh from her.

A cab pulled up and Roy went to it immediately. "Perfect timing. I was about to start walking." he said as he opened the door. They were both surprised to see Richard stepping out.

"Dick. What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Kori lost her purse."

"Her new Coco Chanel?" she asked in her normal monotone. He looked at her surprised. "What? I'm the one who bought it for her."

"That's the one." he smiled, heading inside.

"Not the new Coco Chanel!" Roy said sarcastically. "Lets go." he pointed to the cab.

"I'm going to stay and help him find it."

"A purse?"

"A purse I spent two thousand dollars on for her."

"Dudes shouldn't know that." she gave him a kiss on the cheek and went into the building with Richard. He watched and sighed before mumbling something about the purse.

"Hey, in or out asshole?" the cab driver asked.

"You need a hug buddy." he said seriously before getting in and closing the door.

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><p><strong>20 Minutes Later<strong>

"Hey. I found it." Rachel called after twenty minutes of thorough searching. It was under a table. She bent down and grabbed it. She stood up too quickly and bumped her head on the bottom of the table.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine." she held out the bag.

"You sure?" he accepted it and moved closer to inspect her head.

"Yeah." she rubbed it and shook it off even though it hurt like hell.

"Thanks so much." he was grateful. To be honest he didn't even know what the bag looked like. He just knew it was one Rachel got for her. Kori had told him that through her drunken slurs.

"No problem really."

They went outside and tried to hail a cab. "So did you have fun?" he asked turning slightly.

"Yeah. I had fun." she said unconvincingly. He looked back at her and smirked. "I did." she insisted. She looked away. Richard caught this and put his hand down.

"Hey. Lets get one more drink."

"Oh no. I'm good."

"Come on." he insisted.

"It's okay. Really. You don't have to."

"I want to." she agreed and they walked to a nearby bar.

Richard ordered drinks and Rachel held a table for them. As she sat down and held her purse, she noticed a coaster on the table with the same picture the other bar had. The other bar where he and Rachel went, back when they were in law school. The other bar where he and Kori met. She flipped it over and look towards Dick. A woman was staring him up and down and he didn't even glance her way as he paid for the beers.

She snickered as he sat down. "Wow. You really _don't _notice the way women look at you."

"You are very funny." he said placing a beer in front of her.

"I'm not that funny." she said tipping her head to the side pointing out the woman again.

"You're right. You were much funnier in law school." he joked. She chuckled as a thought popped up in her head.

"If you could do anything? Be anything? Tomorrow, just wake up and be anything, what would you be?"

"Rap Superstar." he took a swig of beer.

"Seriously." she chided.

"I'd be a teacher."

"Really? Why?"

"Yeah. I've always wanted to teach." he sat up. "Maybe start at a high school and coach sports part time."

"So why aren't we? Why aren't we doing what we really want to do?"

"I don't know about you, but I'm not because I wasn't really given a choice of what I wanted. It was more of what was expected."

"Exactly!" she pointed out. With a slight glance to her right, she caught the same woman rolling her eyes and turning away from them. "Wow. We are really pissing her off." she laughed. "She probably can't imagine, what the hell you're doing here with me. Hot people are supposed to with _other _hot people."

Richard looked at Rachel for a moment. He got an idea, then turning to the other woman said, "Excuse me."

"Richard." she tried to stop him.

"I think you're making my girlfriend a little uncomfortable." he continued anyway.

"Dick. Stop it. Shut up." she hissed, embarrassed.

"What?" he asked innocently. The woman turned and walked away turning red.

"Was it something I said?" he called after her.

Rachel couldn't stop laughing. She took a few breaths and said through her fits, "Now I remember why I had such a crush on you in law school."

"No you didn't." he assumed she was kidding.

"Of course I did." he looked up at her seriously. "Oh come on you knew." she smirked. He kept the same look on his face as if the wheels in his head were turning a mile a second. Her face paled and they said nothing to each other. They went outside, hailed a cab in silence and Rachel climbed inside fiddling with her hands. Richard gave the driver the addresses.

"Two stops?" he asked.

"Two stops." he nodded.

"I'm so sorry. I don't even know why-" he cut her off with a passionate kiss. She was shocked. She had thought about it for so long but never expected it. He pulled back about to apologize and she didn't give him the chance to. She brought him in again and snaked her fingers through his hair. He slid her jacket down to her elbow on one side and kissed her shoulder. Her dress began riding up but she didn't really mind. Richard closed the very little amount of space between them and they didn't speak. The cab driver noticed and asked, "So I guess its just one stop then?"

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><p><strong>A Few Minutes Later<strong>

She led them to the elevator of her building and once the doors closed, he pushed her back against the cold wall. The sting of the temperature made her back arch, pushing herself even closer to him. She kissed him and let her hands rest on the back of his neck. She never once thought of anybody else. Just him and her together in that moment. He kissed her neck softly. As he bit down a little bit on her collarbone she brought her leg up slightly to keep from making any noise. She felt that if she did then, that moment would suddenly disappear. As if it were too fragile to risk alerting each other of what they were doing. Her palms found the wall and gripped at anything she could as his lips moved lower. _'Had the elevator always been this slow?' _she wondered.

As if reading her mind and trying to prove itself, the elevator made a _DING_ noise before the doors opened and they broke apart. Rachel searched for her keys and Richard kept at nibbling her neck. She couldn't concentrate on anything but the sensation of his soft touch searching her stomach, so she jerked away from him, opened the door quickly, and turned to face him. She brought him into the room and laughed at his look of disappointment. She had some form of humor about the situation. She had to. There's no way that it could have been real anyway. But on some level, she knew exactly what she was doing. She knew she was about to sleep with the man she had loved and let slip out of her hands. And she was ready to accept it.

But there was one crucial fact she forgot to remember. One thing that should have stopped the both of them cold. One word. Kori.

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><p><strong>AN: Dun Dun DUN! I love this chapter when everything is so simple. I really do love this movie. One of my best friends and I have grown so much from watching this movie and reading this book. And I dedicate this to those best buddies who always tell each other the truth.**

**Much Love and Respect,**

**~Poppie~  
><strong>


	2. That Was No Cat

**A/N: Awww I'm already getting some views on this story. I'm glad. Happy Thanksgiving! I wish everybody lots of fun and I would like to give thanks to you viewers by posting this chapter right now.**

**Mewgirl223: Me too. And Thank you so much. I wouldn't give up on any story I've set my mind to. Plus leaving it there for ME is torture. I can only imagine how it feels for readers who don't even know what I'm writing. Lolz. Thx and I hope you enjoy.**

**Latezz123: Awesome. And trust me. It gets even better. Don't worry, I'll get to my other stories as soon as I can. I hope you like this chapter as well.  
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**i'm so hollow: Awwwww. Thanks so much. And here it is! Hope you like it.  
><strong>

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><p>The next morning, Rachel had her dark locks in her face. Her smile was plastered on. Her bangs were loose again. Her head was swimming and tingling even though she didn't drink that much the night before. It took her a while to notice a high voice shrieking from her answering machine.<p>

"_Rachel_!" Kori called on the answering machine. _"Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up! Wake up!"_ she spoke rapidly._ "Why aren't you answering me?" _she asked.

Rachel finally turned a little bit before opening her eyes slightly and blinking a little. Then a few thoughts occurred to her.

'_I'm naked. I'm in bed.' _she looked to her left. _'Richard is naked. He is also in my bed.' _her eyes went wide.

"Oh no." she said out loud. "What the hell did I do?" Richard woke up smiling as well until he realized the woman next to him wasn't Kori.

"Oh no." he said realizing a little later. They both climbed out of bed and turned the other way to avoid seeing each others bits and pieces. Richard recognized the voice on the machine as Kori's and cursed out. He reached for his phone on the nightstand and checked. "Fourteen missed calls?" he asked out loud.

"_Dick didn't come home last night. I think he might have cheated." _Kori said still talking. Rachel put on a dark blue robe and turned to Richard who was still in disbelief. "Don't be naked!" she yelled and threw his clothes at him. He got dressed as she paced and Kori called again.

"Should I answer it?" she asked.

"What? No! No! Don't!" he told her pulling on his boxers.

"I should. Then say that- that- that…" she was lost in thought.

"Say what?" he asked.

"I don't know!" she freaked out.

"_I know its crazy. But I mean, hot people get cheated on too right? He could've-" _Richard turned off the machine and looked for his shirt."

"What are we going to do?" she asked him.

"Its going to be okay. I'll tell her I was with Jason. And then we-" he tried to think of a solution. "We- we can just- we'll figure it out."

"I'm such an awful person." She buried her face in her hands in shame. She felt like kicking herself. " I mean not just Kori. I hurt you too and I just-"

"Rachel. Stop. It wasn't just you." he reminded her. The phone rang again. "I'd better go." he left and Rachel answered the phone. And with every response to her lies, came the sarcastic bitch version of her left shoulder angel. The devil was nowhere to be found. Probably still in bed with Dick.

"Hello?"

"_Rachel? Where the hell have you been? Dick didn't come home last night." _Kori was frantic.

"Really?" _**Like you didn't know. **_said the angel.

"_Yeah. He'd better have been in jail or hit by a bus or something." _

"Don't say that Kori!" _**We both would have been better off if he was though.**_ There she was again.

"_Do you think he cheated on me?_ she asked really considering it.

"What? No, of course not. He loves you." _**You heard her.**__** Liar. And does he really?**_

"_Well obviously. But did you see him? When he left the bar?"_

"Well. Yeah. He was with Jason. They were watching a game." _**Suuuurrre they were.**_

"_At 2:00 A.M.?" she asked._

"Yeah." Rachel slapped her head. "Um. It was European or something. Cricket. I think." _**Nice save dummy.**_

"_Cricket?" she asked considering it. "Wait. He's calling me now. We'll see about this cricket crap." she hung up._

Rachel flopped on the bed and turned her head to the side. She noticed her old law books and one that stood out to her was the same one that always reminded her of the first day she met Dick.

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><p><strong>A Few Years Before<strong>

_**She was in class laying out five pens and her text books. A voice from above asked her teasingly, "You wouldn't happen to have four extra pens would you?"**_

"_**Yeah I do actually. I brought a bunch because-" she looked up and saw him. Standing there and smiling at her. She laughed a little bit. "You're making fun of me."**_

"_**A little bit." he sat. "You're making me feel inadequate right now." he held up his one pen.**_

_**As the professor walked in, she reached for her notebook and accidentally dropped all of her pens on the floor. Without anything to write with, she listened to the professor lost. Richard carefully slid his pen over to her. "What will you use?" she asked.**_

"_**I'll just listen." he whispered back to her with a smile.**_

"_**Thank you."**_

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><p>Later that night Rachel decided to watch T.V. to drown out her mind. She flipped it on and saw <em>'Fatal Attraction'<em> was showing. She threw the remote in frustration with the irony. All of a sudden, her phone rang and she saw Kori's number and picture.

"Hey Kori."

"Actually, it's Richard." he said on the other line. "I'm outside using Kori's phone."

"Oh." she said awkwardly.

"Yeah. I was just calling to make sure you're okay." he said slowly. He was choosing his words carefully.

"Sure. Yeah. Are you okay?"

"I'm- I'm kind of-" he started before Kori came outside.

"Who are you talking to?" she asked him.

"Rachel." he answered.

"Good. I forgot to call her back earlier." she took the phone and walked a few feet away. "Hey."

"So what happened earlier?" she asked wondering exactly what Richard told her.

"He just got drunk and passed out at Jason's." she shrugged it off and Rachel breathed a sigh of relief.

"So everything's fine with him right?" she wanted to be sure.

"Yeah. But earlier, he was acting all guilty and saying he wanted to talk to me about something serious." she whispered.

"Really? About what?" she got nervous again.

"I don't know. But he's calling me back over right now. I've gotta go. Bye."

"Wait could I just talk to him for one second?" she asked but was greeted by the dial tone. Kori had already hung up. She sat down and turned her head to the movie. It was at the very end where Anne Archer shoots Glenn Close after she pops out of the water with a knife. She shuddered and went back to reviewing her next client's files.

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><p><strong>The Next Day<strong>

"I love this dress." she walked out and sighed. It was skin tight and it fluffed out at the very bottom. It was like a mermaid dress but instead of the ruffles, there were feathers.

"Kor you look amazing." Rachel complimented.

"Thank you." she said before holding her nose with her hands and looking down.

"She's having her bridal moment." a sales associate nudged Rachel and urged her to comfort her friend. It was after all her maid of honoral duty. Rachel stepped up cautiously.

"Are you okay Kori?"

"Huh? Yeah I'm fine." she looked up with dry eyes. "I just want to cry on the day." Rachel nodded. "And I want to check my mascara to see if it will run." she squeezed her eyes trying to conjure up tears. Rachel shook her head and walked away. She sat down and while Kori tried to cry, she was in deep thought. She remembered when she and Dick were studying late one night.

* * *

><p><em><strong>They were both laughing so hard they turned red. Somebody shushed them and they calmed down.<strong>_

"_**Back to work." he said winding down a little bit. **_

"_**Duty, breech, causation." she began and forgot the last part.**_

"_**Oh come on." he threw a crumpled piece of paper at her.**_

"_**What? What am I missing?" she threw it back.**_

"_**Damages." he reminded her.**_

"_**Shit. How am I supposed to remember this?" she asked starting to stress a little bit.**_

"_**Use a pneumonic device." he wrote down the first letter of each word. "DBCD" he said aloud**_

"_**Deliver By Christmas Day?" she joked with a straight face.**_

"_**Don't Blame Cameron Diaz?" he tried. **_

"_**God you suck at this!" she laughed hard and a tear escaped her eyes. He reached over smiling and wiped it from her shiny amethyst orb.**_

"_**How about Dick Buys Celebratory Dinner?"**_

"_**Sure." she accepted.**_

_**An hour or so later she met him at a bar and restaurant. She was wearing a green dress and her hair was curled and shining. He was wearing a casual black suit waiting for her. They ordered drinks before deciding on an appetizer and talking about their first kisses.**_

"_**So I spun the bottle. And It landed on her. We went in the closet." he explained.**_

"_**Uh-huh."**_

"_**And it turned out to be one of the best kisses of my life."**_

"_**Wow."**_

"_**And you?"**_

"_**My first kiss was on a golf course. In the pouring rain and I was about fifteen years old." he looked at her in disbelief. He was about to say something else before Kori walked in and sat next to him.**_

"_**Eh. I don't know. He's like a six or seven." she joked looking him up and down. She wore her hair down and straight. Her dress was blue and short with a long overcoat.**_

"_**Dick this is Kori, Kori this is Dick." Rachel introduced them. "Kor, what are you doing here?"**_

"_**Well yeah. I guessed. You've only been talking about him for months." she ignored her later question.  
><strong>_

"_**He's been a great study partner." she kicked her underneath the table trying to make her stop talking. Richard blushed a little bit.**_

"_**Jeez. Lighten up you guys." she took off her jacket. "Tarts are over."**_

"_**Torts." he corrected. **_

"_**Whatever." she shrugged it off and he raised an eyebrow to Rachel. She shrugged and offered an apologetic smile. "Excuse me. Waiter, can we have three tequila shots?" he nodded and she turned back to the table. "So lets get this party started guys. Truth or Dare!" she suggested.**_

"_**Kori." she pleaded.**_

"_**What? It'll be fun." she urged. No one said anything so she started. "Fine. Dick truth or dare?" before he responded she said simply, "Dare? Good. I dare you to ask Rachel out on a real date. Instead of whatever this is."**_

"_**Kori. We're just friends." she said convincingly. He almost looked hurt but nobody saw it.**_

"_**Fine. Then ask me out." she turned to him. Rachel's small smile faded slowly but surely. Richard looked towards Rachel as if asking for permission. She put her hands up as if she didn't care either way.**_

"_**Who are you anyway?" he asked Kori.**_

"_**Who am I?" she smiled and flirted. " I am the counselor of fun. Which you could use a lot of."**_

"_**Oh really? Are you always this obnoxious?" he asked playfully.**_

"_**Depends on your definition." she laughed.**_

"_**You seem like a lot of trouble." he looked her in the eyes.**_

"_**Good. I aim to please." she smiled seductively.**_

* * *

><p>Rachel was snapped out of her memory by Kori's voice. "Rachel? Did you hear me?"<p>

"What?" she asked a little bit dazed.

"Veil or no veil?"

"Veil."

* * *

><p><strong>Twenty Minutes Later<strong>

They were walking down the street and Kori stopped suddenly.

"Oh I forgot to tell you. Guess who thinks you're hot?"

"Who?" she asked.

"Jason."

"Oh." she said quickly. "Hell no." she said simply and shook her head.

"Why not?" she asked whining a little bit. "You know what never mind. Because you will fall in love anyways."

"What the hell are you talking about?" she asked.

"I convinced him to take the last bedroom in the vacation house in Jump."

"Kori!"

"Oh come on. He could be your brand new boy toy!"

"No. Absolutely not." she refused. "Besides, I'm going to have to work most weekends."

"Please?" she begged.

"Fine." she answered. "Haven't said no to you yet have I?"

* * *

><p><strong>That Weekend<strong>

"I still don't believe your making me do this." Roy complained. She made Roy agree to tag along in order to keep Jason in check.

"Hey look on the bright side. Jump is beautiful, you could do some writing."

"It doesn't look like I'll be doing much writing since I'm acting as your official cock blocker from Jasey"

"Jason." she corrected.

"Jackson." he messed up on purpose.

"Jason." she said again.

"Who cares?" he deadpanned.

Kori drove up whooping and laughing excitedly. "Please don't tell me its coming." she was referring to Roy.

"Good-Bye." he turned to leave. But Rachel grabbed his arm.

"Harper you stay. Kori be nice." she scolded.

"Fine." she climbed in the back while Richard put away their stuff.

They pulled up to the house where Kitten was waiting on the front porch. The only reason she was there was because she paid for most of the house. She, Richard, Rachel, Kori and Roy bought it the year after graduation and used it every summer and sometimes in the winter when they wanted to escape the snow.

She saw Roy and ran up to him immediately. He grabbed Rachel and gently pushed her in front of him, before hurrying off. They spent the next few hours on the beach drinking talking and dancing around. Kori stood up and began to make a speech.

"A toast to all of us. And before I become Mrs. Richard Grayson. I would like to come up here with you all as much as possible. Cheers to us!" and everybody cheered.

* * *

><p>The next night they went to a nearby club. There was a dress code. You had to wear black. So, Rachel opted for a comfortable look. Jeans and a simple black spaghetti strap with a necklace. Kitten had gotten by with a black leather skirt and a soft pink tank top. Roy wore dark blue jeans and a white shirt with a black jacket over it. Jason missed the memo and three moments before we left, threw on some black sneakers, and got through on charm. Rachel was standing next to the bar and watching Richard and Kori carefully. She wore a black based sundress with a floral design. Her hair was in a tight pony tail and her black heels were shifting back and forth to the music. But she was staring more at Richard. He stood tall and his shoulders looked broad in his black t-shirt. Rachel took some satisfaction when he looked almost tense when Kori slid her hand in the back of his jeans. She didn't even notice when Roy stood next to her and said, "You've gotta stop staring."<p>

"What?" she asked panicky. "I'm not staring."

"What are _you _talking about?" he asked. "I'm talking about blondie over there." he motioned to Kitten staring him up and down. "She's like a pink gremlin. Like some weird animal."

"Stop it Roy. She's just some poor woman who made the mistake of sleeping with a man who had no intentions of using her for more than sex." she looked down hoping she wasn't subconsciously referring to herself.

"Thank-you Oprah!" he said sarcastically. "I don't need advice, I _need_-"

"You _need _to go talk to her. Go." she said sternly.

"You know what?" he asked. "Yeah. You're right. I'll talk to her." she started walking over. "But not now." he walked away before she could get to him. Rachel sipped her drink and turned somewhere else. She saw Jason dancing with other girls and making his way towards her.

"You are like a shark."

"That hurts a little bit Rachel."

"Hmm."

"You know. I saved the life of a chipmunk when I was about nine years old." he put on a sympathetic face. "It fell out of a tree and broke its leg. And I made a little splint and carried it around with me everywhere. And all the kids laughed at me, but I didn't care."

"That's…." she trailed off _'bullshit.' _she wanted to say but she didn't. ".. sweet."

"Yeah so next time you want to call someone a shark remember the chipmunk." she nodded. "Hey, how about we go outside and get some fresh air?" he held up a joint of marijuana discreetly.

"That's not really my thing. But thanks anyway." she looked towards Kori who was all over Richard again. "You know what? Why not?" she went outside and waited for him.

* * *

><p><strong>Later That Night<strong>

"And I couldn't believe they split up." Jason finished and everybody laughed. Kitten and Roy were already asleep and Kori was on Richards lap, with Rachel and Jason sitting next to each other. Jason looked towards Kori and pleaded with his eyes for them to leave him and Rachel alone.

"Dick, hon, time for bed." she stood up and Rachel caught on to what she was doing.

"Yeah you guys should go." Jason urged.

"Uhm." Rachel said quietly.

"Actually Kori, I'm not really that tired." Dick tried not to leave Jason alone with Rachel.

"Good." she said seductively. She headed upstairs where she waited for him.

"Well. Good night guys." he stood up and hurried them off. Richard glanced back looking worried. About twenty minutes later, they sat in complete silence. That is until sounds of Kori's moans and screams broke it.

"Was that?" he asked.

"It was a cat." Rachel shrugged it off.

"That was no cat." he laughed.

* * *

><p><strong>Upstairs<strong>

A knock on the door interrupted Roy's sleep. Kitten came in and stood in the door frame. She wore a pink headband with a matching silk nightgown. "It's so crazy out there." she started. "Do you think I could sleep in here?" she asked

"Um. No." he said simply. "Look I should have talked to you about this before. I think that," she stared him down. "I think I'm gay." he lied. Her eyes saddened. "Wait no. That came out wrong." they lit up again.

"I am _definitely_ gay." he nodded his head and her eyes drooped again. "I'm gay and I'm figuring it out just now. At this moment. So there is like no room for all of that emotion _and _you in this bed tonight. I'm sorry." he lied. "Thanks for understanding."

"I accept." she said. "I accept the challenge of being your partner while you walk through this journey."

"What?" he asked. "No. I need no partner."

"We're going to work through this."

"There's nothing to work through."

"We start tomorrow." she closed the door when she left.

"Start what?" he half yelled- half whispered. He slammed his head in the pillow and grunted in frustration.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well that was a lot to handle huh? I was going to cut it off earlier. But I decided not to at the last minute. Well Thanks for viewing and I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! Read and Respond**

**Much Love and Respect,**

**~Poppie~  
><strong>


	3. Do You Want Me To Guess?

**A/N: Another Chapter of this story! Loving it. And I've made progress on a new story dedicated to TheDreamChaser, who requested it. But I'm putting a little bit of a twist in it. I'm halfway done with the next chapter for Bride Wars 2 and I should be done with it in a few hours. But all you should worry about right now, is this chapter!**

**Latezz123:Yay! Thanks so much for reviewing.  
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**Mewegirl223:Thank you for your patience! I'm pretty sure you've got like 5 times more self control than I do. lolz  
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**TheDreamChaser:Wow! I'm seeing a lot of love for Jason. Maybe I'll do a fic like that for my A-Z Moments.  
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**TheMaskedShuppeteer: Awesome! I loved that part too! 2. Surrrrre it was. 3. Get ready for the end of this chapter... 4. Okay! :)  
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**Mailumia: Thank you so much. I'm glad you're enjoying this story.  
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**i'm so hollow: Yeah happy Friday! Thank you. It's really hard for me to write funny scenes like that because it's not something you see. It's something you read. And its the task of reading it, after you wrote it, as someone who isn't inside your head.**

**I hope you all enjoy this next chapter. And don't forget, ANY CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM IS WELCOME! (sorry for yelling)  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Richard walked downstairs in the middle of the night. He needed a drink. He couldn't stand Kori in the bed at the moment. She kept trying to force them to 'cuddle' because 'it was important to sustain a healthy intimate sex life'. Of course it was important, he could understand. But you weren't supposed to force something like that. And that's exactly what she did. He remembered what happened after he and Rachel had sex. <em>He<em> had been the one to pull _her _ closer him. He wondered for a moment if that meant anything. He hoped it did. He just wanted answers. When he reached the kitchen somebody was bent over looking in the fridge for something. He heard them curse and he recognized the voice as Rachel's.

"You okay?" he asked her.

"No." she answered simply. "I couldn't really get any sleep. You know, what with all the screams of pleasure." she murmured bitterly.

"I'm sorry." he apologized.

"Why should you be sorry? She's your fiance, isn't she?" she continued grabbing an apple and rummaging through the drawers for a peeler.

"It wasn't me. It was her. She wouldn't stay off of me. I actually came down here to get a drink."

"Well good luck, we're out of beer." he took an orange from the same fruit bowl.

"So you settled for an apple." he tried to make conversation. But failed miserably.

"Yes." she said still looking around. "Why? Did you want to have sex with it?" she bit. He held up his hands.

"I already told you my side of the story." he backed away from her. "We both went to law school. I think you should be familiar with the phrase, 'innocent, before proven guilty.'" he slid her a peeler from the knife rack behind him.

"What about you?"

"I can use my hands." he laughed a little bit. "Deja vu." he whispered. He walked out.

* * *

><p><strong>The Next Morning<strong>

"I'm outta here." Rachel said the next morning setting her bags down. She tightened the belt around her jean shorts waist, and pulled on a black button shirt over a grey tank top.

"You're leaving?" Kori asked walking into the dining room. She was wearing one of Dick's old sweaters that reached about mid thigh to her. Roy looked up from his newspaper curious to why she was leaving. _'She drags me all the way here and leaves the next morning?'_

"Yeah. My boss called me back early. Sorry."

"He's an ass. An assface." she complained.

"Sorry."

"Roy." Kori hit him. "Make her stay."

He put down his paper. "Rachel, you really should stay. You might miss them shooting another porno tonight." he said emotionless. Kori scoffed.

"You are obviously still in love with me."

"Obviously." he rolled his eyes and mocked her.

"Anyway. Do you have a number for the taxi service? I need a ride to bus station."

"I'll take you." Richard said pulling on a button down blue plaid shirt over his t-shirt.

"Yeah. He can bring you." Kori reasoned.

She nodded, "There you go."

* * *

><p><strong>Half An Hour Later<strong>

He pulled to the side of the road after reaching the bus station. "You don't _really **have **_to go, do you?" he asked suspiciously

She took off her sunglasses. "I'm sorry. Can we just forget this ever happened?"

"Sure." he said looking around. "We can forget this ever happened."

"Good. Why did it happen?" she asked not completely ready to drop it. "Why did you kiss me?"

"I-"

"You know what?" she cut him off and offered him multiple excuses. "You had pre-wedding jitters and I was upset about being older. We were both really drunk."

"I wasn't that drunk." he stopped her and looked up to meet her eyes.

"What?"

"I wasn't that drunk." she looked at him in shock. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be..." he trailed off.

"It was a mistake." she said. "Just a mistake."

"Yeah a mistake." he nodded. She got out of the car and headed to the bus. Richard watched her and waited until she drove off before heading back.

* * *

><p><strong>Lunch With Roy<strong>

"So I had fun hanging out with your new boyfriend Jacko."

"Jason." she corrected.

"Does not matter."

"So everybody was cool with me leaving? Did anybody mention anything? Kori or Dick?" she asked nonchalantly.

"Well we all had a good cry after you left." he said sarcastically. "No nobody cared. Why?"

"No reason. It's just Kori wanted us to have dinner tonight. She said it was important."

"Eh Mah Gawd." he said with his best valley girl accent. "It's important. Should I like be there and all that fun shit?" she threw a French fry at him.

"Shut up."

* * *

><p><strong>That Night<strong>

Rachel walked into the restaurant and found Richard and Kori sitting down. She was about to walk out when Kori called her over.

"Rachel!" she had no choice but to walk over.

"Hey. I thought it was going to be just us tonight."

"Me too." Richard looked just as confused.

"Okay. I just called you and Richard here because I know what's going on here." she stated and pointed to both of them. "I read in a magazine about this. I know how to look for the signs. You are worried about losing the attention of the bride." They just stared at her relieved. "That is what this is right?"

"Yeah." They said in unison

"So lets stop that and get this over with because, I love you both." she grabbed both of their hands. She kept talking but Rachel barely heard a word being said.

* * *

><p><strong>An Hour Later<strong>

"So do you and Jason do it?" Kori asked.

"Kori." Dick nudged her.

"It's a legitimate question."

"No. We didn't." she downed some of her wine.

"Is he a good kisser?"

"Kori. Leave her alone." Richard urged not wanting to hear about it.

"Was he?"

Rachel said nothing.

"I knew it. Tell Richard he doesn't know you at all. He said you guys wouldn't be good together."

"You guys are really different. That's all." He explained embarrassed.

"So what?" Kori asked chewing on a toothpick from her martini. "If people fell in love based on similarities, then the two of you would be together." Rachel choked on the wine she was drinking. Luckily nobody noticed.

"I'm going to call a cab. Meet me out front." she kissed him and he left to step outside.

"You have to do me a favor. Come with me to see this band for the wedding. It's the only night they're playing here. And Dick loves them." she asked as soon as he left.

"I don't know. I'm slammed at work." she tried to get out of it.

"Please for me. You have way better taste than me."

"Than I." she corrected. "And fine. I haven't said no to you yet have I?" she asked.

"Thank you." she smiled brightly.

* * *

><p><strong>That Thursday Night<strong>

Rachel headed inside the concert and sat in the seat assigned to her. She noticed the person sitting next to her and couldn't believe she was looking at Richard.

"Kori set this up." she stated more than asked.

"I can't believe her."

"Really? Cause I can." she said flatly. "It's fine."

"No its not." he said seriously. "Why didn't you tell me how you felt in law school?"

"Look. I never should have said anything." she deflected.

"I just wish I had known."

"What do you mean?"

"Rachel, you were all I ever thought about in law school. Did you really not know that?" she looked to him then straight forward. He never took his eyes off of her.

"Why are you doing this to me?" she asked.

"Rachel,"

"Don't."

"Rachel." he tried again.

"Please don't." she shook her head trying to deflect all emotions.

"This is not pre wedding jitters. I can't stop thinking about you and I don't know what to do. Rachel look at me." she did not. "Look. At. Me." he had to be sure she understood him. "If you feel the same way, tell me now. Please. Tell me now."

"I can't. Its too late Richard. It's _way_ too late." she walked outside absent minded. She couldn't believe it. If she weren't so blind before things would have been different. Sh wanted to kick herself. She wanted to scream. But she didn't get the chance to. He had followed her and turned her around before kissing her. She returned it gladly. He held her head up as he devoured her lips hungrily. It was demanding, but not aggressive. She knew there would be some minimal bruising, so she bit down on his lip a little bit for payback. They pulled apart and she sighed ready to admit everything to him.

"Look, I feel the same way." she confessed. "I wish to God I didn't. But I do. I really do." he kissed her again and they held each other.

* * *

><p><strong>That Weekend<strong>

Rachel walked on the deck and took a seat across from Richard. "Hey. So I was thinking-" he was interrupted by Kori who walked over and kissed him without warning.

"I forgot something. I'll be back." she said simply before standing up and going to the kitchen. She broke the kiss a few moments after she left and when she wasn't looking, he wiped his mouth.

Kitten walked out wearing a rainbow shirt that said _'Legalize Gay.'_

"Wow. What's with the shirt?" Kori asked.

"What? Gay people should have the same rights as straight people. Right?" she asked and they nodded confused.

"Hey, I'm going to grab a beer. Does anybody else want one?" Dick asked.

"I'll take one." Kori accepted.

He walked in the kitchen "Hey."

"Hey yourself."

"I'm sorry about that. Do you want to-?" he went quiet as Roy entered. He stood there and waved innocently. They both walked separate ways leaving him standing there confused. He walked out with a tray and set it next to the salad Kori was mixing.

"When did you get here?" She asked him.

"This morning." he answered.

"Yeah. But I didn't invite you. So why the hell are you here?" she asked.

He took in a breath and gave a fake performance. "Because I love you." she sniffled loudly, "And I can't stand to be away from you. And also," he spoke seriously. " my apartment flooded." he explained.

"Really it flooded? That's so weird I _don't_ care."

"Kori." Kitten interrupted. "Be nice to Roy. He's going through something really tough right now." Richard and Rachel came out and took a seat.

"Not really. Its just the flooded apartment." he silently begged her to shut the hell up.

Jason walked out with an unknown blonde. Everybody stared at him but he didn't notice for a while. When he finally did he shrugged his shoulders, "We're allowed to have guests right?"

"Is there any vodka?" the stranger asked rudely. Everybody just stared at her.

* * *

><p>Rachel finished her evening run and came up the hill catching the end of Richard's phone conversation. "I love you too. Bye mom."<p>

"That was your mom?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Is she getting any better?"

"Yeah. A lot better. She's so excited about the wedding."

She looked down slightly, "The wedding. Right." He walked towards her. He changed the subject.

"When I was a kid, and her depression got really bad, my father wasn't really around to cheer her up. The worst part was that I was afraid that if I couldn't make her happy, I would lose her."

"Good reason to be afraid." she comforted him. She was about to say something else but Kori called them inside to pick something for the wedding.

* * *

><p><strong>The Next Day<br>**

Rachel sat next to Roy while he read part of what he'd written in his novel to her. She noticed Jason approaching her and closed her eyes.

"Hey sweet sugar. Do you wanna take a dip in the water?" she kept still and said nothing.

"I think she's sleeping. Or dead." Roy saved her. He nodded wanting to give her rest and walked away. She opened her eyes and looked over to Richard and Kori who were walking on the edge of the water. She grabbed his hand.

She laughed about something he didn't hear. He joined in late with a fake laugh.

"Ah Ha Ha Ha Ha." she teased. "That is like the fakest laugh ever. What's with you lately?"

"Sorry." he apologized. "Just a little tense."

"Tense?" she asked backing up slightly smiling evilly.

"Kori? What are you doing?"

"Me? Nothing." she said a little too innocently.

"Don't even think about it." he warned. But before he even finished she kicked water right at him. "Kori."

"What?" she did it again. He chased her around. Rachel headed inside the house not wanting to see and Roy took notice but said nothing.

* * *

><p><strong>At The Night Club That Night<strong>

Kitten eyed Roy and smiled at him. He shook his head and moved closer to a man in front of him pointing and shaking his head no to her. She frowned disappointed and looked away. The man in front of him turned around and smiled. Roy nodded trying not to look creeped out before walking away quickly.

Rachel watched Kori and Richard dirty dancing. She got incredibly jealous and on impulse ran up to Jason.

"I need you." she said.

He took it another way, "I need you too." she scoffed and dragged him to the dance floor right next to the other two. Kori thinking she brought him over to dance for a friendly competition laughed and cheered and danced along with her. Rachel danced seductively with Jason. He grabbed her leg and wrapped it around his waist. He dipped her down low and turned her around in a circle before popping her back up to him. Kori did the same with Richard. But Richard was too busy watching Rachel in shock, amazement and just plain lust. He tried his best to not let Kori see it.

Roy watched and shook his head trying to figure out what the hell she was doing.

She kneeled down and stood back up whipping her hair and arching her back the way Kori taught her in high school. Kori smiled remembering the move and cheered her on while doing the same thing. She grabbed Jason's belt in the front, pressed close to him and began bending over backwards. All of a sudden she stopped and fell.

"Ow!" she cried out.

"Are you okay?" Richard asked. He started to go after her but Kori pulled him back stating she'd be fine.

"I'm fine." she stood up and limped away. "I only pulled every muscle in my leg at once." she whispered once she was out of ear shot.

* * *

><p><strong>Monday Morning<strong>

Rachel walked, or limped to work the next morning and was greeted with flowers from Richard. She read the card and set it down. She called him right before her lunch break.

_"Now I know what kind of flowers to get you to call me back when your mad at me."_

"Sorry, I just-" she chuckled.

_"I'm sorry."_ he apologized._ "I know this weekend wasn't ideal."_

"It wasn't just this weekend. It was watching you with her and seeing you guys together. Watching her with you. And knowing what we're doing." she sighed. "What _are_ we doing?" she asked. "It's just so hard to see her _with_ you Richard."

_"What we need, is some time alone. Time away from all of this. Just time alone so we can find out what this is. Next weekend I'll say that I have to work. They can go down to Jump and we can stay here without anybody and anything to distract us from focusing on us. What do you say?"_

She was about to respond when Roy walked into her office. "I'll call you back." she hung up the phone quickly and stuffed it in her purse. "You're early." she told Roy.

"Yeah. This time." he saw the roses. "Who are those from?"

"Oh, Jason." she said moving to her desk.

"Really?" he said not believing her. "Because those look expensive."

"Should we go now?" she tried to change the subject.

"Yes we should. That was him on the phone too right?" he asked fully knowing it wasn't.

She laughed. He tried to pick up the card but she reached for it and put it in her purse. "Come on Roy. That's private."

"Come on? I was just going to check his spelling." he lied staring her down. "Rachel." he looked at her seriously. "Rachel who are the flowers from?" she stared at him silently pleading. "Do you want me to guess?" It was complete torture for her.

"Please don't."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Wu-oh. Someone's in trouble... Or not. Well I hope you liked it and I also hope you read and are going to respond!**

**Much Love and Respect**

**~Poppie~  
><strong>


	4. Yes, Jason is Circumcised

**A/N: A few days later and I'm back. I'll be honest. It's late as hell, and I've still got homework to do, and posters to finish, so I'm sorry for posting so late, lolz. Here are the responses though**. :D

**TheDreamChaser: me either. I went back and saw my comment, and I was like.. was I high when I posted this? lolz. But I meant 'lots of love for the Jason AND Rachel PAIRING.' lol. Well the drama continues! Hope you like it.**

**Mewgirl223: I don't blame ya! And I loved writing that chapter almost as much as I loved this one. Thanks for reading and reviewing, hope you enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>After Lunch<strong>

They were walking after lunch drinking smoothies and not speaking for a while. Usually she didn't mind the quiet, but this was agonizingly silent. "Please say something." she looked up at him a few moments after asking.

"I don't know what to say really." he laughed still looking forward. "I guess I'm kind of impressed."

"Huh?" she had expected a speech or lecture. He finally had a chance for payback and he wasn't taking it. No wonder he was her best guy friend.

"Yeah. I mean, I didn't think you had it in you."

"It's nothing to be proud of." she scolded herself.

"Oh come on. They're not married yet. Besides sometimes good people do bad things." they sat down on a nearby bench. "I could see you guys together." she smiled but didn't dare let him see it. "So what now?" he asked.

"He wants to stay here this weekend. It's Independence Day. We could play the work card. And then see what comes of it."

"Hmm." he nodded. "And what do _you _want?"

"I want…" she trailed off really thinking, "..not to want him. At least not now. Not like this. I mean poor Kori."

"Hey. I can tell you this. If the roles were reversed, 'poor Kori' wouldn't even hesitate." he had a point

* * *

><p><strong>Later During Rachel's Break<strong>

"What do you think of these?" Kori asked holding a pair of red shoes in her hands.

"I think I have to get back to work." she said impatiently.

"What about these?" she held another pair. They were a bright yellow with bows on the top front.

"Did you even hear me?" Rachel asked.

"Fine, but can I read you something first?"

"Really fast?" she asked.

"Really fast." she promised. She sat down and pulled out her phone. Rachel took a seat across from her.

"Ready?"

"Ready." she said checking her watch.

"Okay." she cleared her throat. "Dick. Our love is like the ocean. Endless and deep and always flowing." Rachel scrunched up her face at that. "What? No good. You hate it don't you?"

"What no? I don't _hate_ it. It was lovely."

"Buuuuuut."

"But oceans don't flow." she pointed out. "Rivers flow." she offered.

"See you're better at this than me." she nudged. "Help me?" she asked in a little voice. "Please?"

"I already told you I have to get back to work." she said about to stand up.

"Please!" she whined. "Please!"

"Fine!" she snapped. But Kori didn't notice. She just smiled. Like a kid who didn't care that they'd annoyed the crap out of somebody. Just that they got what they wanted. "Forget the ocean. Tell him-" she thought for a moment. "Tell him that when you're with him, everything makes sense. That he makes you the person you want to be, instead of the person you are. That life without him is not only unbearable, its unimaginable."

"Oh my god!" she heard Kori shriek. "You guys made it." Kori ran over to her friends who had just arrived and ignored everything her friend said. Rachel realized she poured her own feelings for Dick right out to Kori without realizing. She knew at that moment, she was lucky. And she had to be more careful.

She texted Richard and agreed to stay home with him for Fourth of July weekend.

* * *

><p><strong>Fourth of July Weekend.<strong>

Saturday morning, Rachel met Dick and they started walking around the city. He was dressed in casual jeans and a red polo shirt. She did the same, only it was a black t-shirt. It was a lot more quiet with everybody in Gotham out of town for the holiday. They went around talking and laughing with each other. They tried their best to avoid anything awkward. Including the wedding and Kori. Everything else smoothed over as they continued their date.

Later that night Rachel led him to her rooftop where she'd set up a comfortable spot for the both of them. They lay next to each other talking about nothing and everything for an hour.

"Do you remember that night when we were studying for that Torts final? And you were laughing so hard." he asked. She didn't even have to try to recall it.

"Yeah. I do."

"Didn't you feel what I was feeling?" he asked. It had been bothering him for a while and he wanted to know.

"I was hoping you were feeling what I was." she admitted. "I didn't know for sure."

"But then. That night. I thought you set me up with Kori."

"I just didn't think you wanted me." she admitted after a while.

He kissed her passionately. In that moment, he showed exactly how much he wanted, how much he needed her. She took off his shirt and he removed her belt before she stopped him. "Wait."

"What's wrong?"

"I don't think we should do this here." she shook her head.

"Yeah. Maybe we should take it slower." he pulled away a little bit wanting to respect any boundaries she had.

"No." she tilted his head down and kissed him. "We're on a roof top. We should go inside." she laughed slightly. He picked her up and kissed her before bringing her down and locking the door behind them. They didn't leave that room all night.

* * *

><p><strong>The Next Morning<strong>

"Hey." Rachel woke up and smiled at Dick. He had a huge smile plastered on. She realized he had been watching her sleep. "This is a nice way to wake up."

"I want to tell you something." he said immediately.

"What?" she asked guessing that it wasn't that serious.

"I love you." he said. She hadn't expected him to say that. "I love you Rachel. I always have." she smiled.

* * *

><p>The two went for a walk in the park in the afternoon. The time when most people would be out for lunch and away from the area. Unfortunately people <em>were<em> there today and as much as he wanted to, Richard couldn't do most of the things he wanted to do with Rachel. Flirt openly, glare at the men staring her up and down and hold her hand. But he was able to tell her so.

"Imagine I'm holding your hand right now." he moved it closer and she didn't move away. They barely touched and her cheeks flushed pink, looking red against her pale complexion. "You're blushing." he teased.

"No I'm not." she shook her head trying her best not to smile.

He looked behind them and saw his adoptive mother and father walking towards them. "Richard?" his mother called.

"Is that?"

"My parents." he suddenly felt like he was in high school again being caught out with a girl.

"I should go." Rachel said nervous.

"No. Don't" he stopped her.

"Dick?" she asked confused.

"Stay." he urged.

"Diana." he stopped walking and she ran up to hug him. "Good to see you again Bruce."

"You too Dick." his gaze landed on Rachel.

"You remember Rachel Roth right?" he pointed. "We went to law school together."

"Nobody could forget those eyes." Diana gushed.

"Nice to see you again Mrs. Wayne."

"We were just about to get lunch. Join us?" she asked.

* * *

><p><strong>After Lunch<strong>

"And he ran around naked saying, 'I am the night. I am vengeance! I! Am!-'"

"Ahhhh." he cut his adoptive mother off and laughed nervously. "Thank you I am now fully embarrassed Diana." Rachel laughed a little bit.

"Richard. Could I speak with you for a moment in private while Diana tells more of your famous adventures?"

"Sure." They walked far away from the table.

"She's doing a lot better." Bruce said.

"I can tell." he smiled

"You know I've never seen her so happy. Must be the wedding." he mused.

"Dad can I ask you something?" Richard barely ever called him dad, considering he _wasn't _really. But he was really serious.

"Anything."

"Have you ever gone down a road? And I mean _far_ down one road and realize that somewhere along the way, its not what you really wanted?" he asked and Bruce looked at him worried. Then back at Rachel.

"Wanted? What we want and what's right isn't always the same thing." he looked dead at him. "Is it?"

"Dad,-" he started but was cut off by Bruce almost instantly.

"Whatever is going on with you and that girl needs to stop. Now."

"But dad-"

"We are not those kinds of people Richard. You know that."

"Yes sir." he said and looked down.

* * *

><p><strong>The Walk Home<strong>

"Your mom is such a sweet heart." Rachel laughed as they walked to her apartment. "Your dad… well I see where that strong silent thing comes from."

He laughed dryly.

"Are you okay?" she asked noticing a change.

"Yeah I'm just tired." he waved off an excuse.

"Well do you want to come up?" she asked offering a place for him to rest.

"I do." he smiled then looked a little bit down remembering what Bruce said earlier. "But Kori texted me and said that she's on her way back now. So I should be there when she gets home."

"Yeah. You're right."

"Rachel. About what I said this morning. In bed. I just need you to understand I meant it." he kissed her cheek and held his lips there for a few moments as if it were the last time he would be able to.

* * *

><p><strong>Lunch With Roy (The Thursday After)<strong>

"That's what he said?" Roy asked a few days later.

"It's complicated." Rachel said sitting down with her lunch. He looked at her questioningly "No. Don't." she warned but he did anyway.

"Don't what? Its not complicated Rachel. He's being a dick. And you're being kind of stupid."

"Wha- wait. I'm being stupid?" she asked.

"Yes. He's just stringing you along and you're letting him."

"He's not even married yet Roy."

"Exactly! Rachel he's not even married yet." he pointed out. "Which means he could leave Kori at anytime. He just hasn't yet. Has he? " he asked harshly. "Have you even seen- have you even _talked _to him since the Fourth of July?" she thought about it and stopped mid chew of her burger. "When did you become one of these women who just waits and waits?" This got her pissed. Maybe because she knew it was true.

"What about you? I don't see you living out your happily ever fucking after Roy."

"Maybe your right." he said unphased. "But at least I take chances."

"When?" she challenged. "When was the last time you took a chance on anything?"

"Two days ago when I decided to move to London."

"That doesn't even count beca-" she stopped herself at realizing what he said. "You're moving to London?" she asked.

"Last week, a publisher said he loved my novel and wanted me to move there where I could write some more. Get some paperwork done and do some promos. But I'd have to live there for a long time."

"When were you going to tell me?"

"About two minutes ago before you started yelling and cursing at me."

"That's incredible." she said truly happy for him.

"Do you want to give me a killer going away present?" he asked feigning excitement.

"What?" she asked knowing he was about to say something smug.

"Tell your boyfriend to make a choice." she rolled her eyes.

* * *

><p>Rachel was walking down the street after lunch and she saw Jason skating with some younger kids and teaching them new moves. He saw her and she waved politely. He walked over to her and they sat down on a nearby bench. They talked for a few minutes about how they've been then he said,<p>

"So I'm lying in bed last night. Thinking about you. Wondering if I should jerk off or not." she looked up at him in surprise and a very _very _small sliver of flattery.

"What a charmer you are." she said with her token sarcasm.

"Let me finish." he held up his hands in defense. "But I couldn't get it up. That has never happened before. And don't get me wrong. I think you're really hot. But now all I can associate with you is failure because of that experience." she snickered and eventually busted out laughing. Jason was absolutely ridiculous and he knew it.

"How do you make the most hideous things sound somehow charming?"

"It's a gift."

"A gift?" she questioned.

"So how big do you think it is?" he asked.

"Excuse me?" she asked with an eyebrow raised.

"The house."

"What house?"

"The one that Kori and Dick are looking at." At this she immediately stopped laughing.

"What?"

"Kori didn't tell you? My dad is Dick's dad's realtor."

"Really?" she asked pissed off.

"Yeah. They're moving out of the city after the wedding. Dick's dad is getting them a huge place far away from the city. It's way out there." he explained thinking she already knew. She just stared into space not wanting to believe Roy was right.

* * *

><p><strong>That Night<strong>

Rachel was in her apartment going over some final paperwork wishing she wasn't so good at her job when her cell phone rang. She saw it was Kori and picked up full of rage.

"Hello?"

"Hey you little tart." she joked while applying lotion to her legs. Dick was right beside her looking over files for a new case. "Jason said you guys saw each other today. So spill it. Is he circumcised?" she asked teasingly.

"When were you going to tell me about buying a house?" she asked bitterly. Dick looked at the phone worried. But Kori just sighed.

"Oh. How did you know? Wait never mind you saw Jason today. It wasn't like a secret or anything. Wait til you see the house we love."

"We haven't decided _anything_ yet." Richard chimed in nervously.

"Oh am I on speaker right now?" Rachel asked curiously ready to cut him with her words.

"Hey Rach." he said meekly.

"Hey Richard. You like the house too huh?" she asked seething.

"Uh. Yeah it- it was okay."

"Okay? What are you talking about?" Kori asked. "We loved it."

"That's great. But I've gotta go. And Kori."

"Yeah?" she turned her attention to the phone.

"Yes. Jason _is_ circumcised." she answered her earlier question, hung up her phone and threw it picturing Richard's face.

Kori looked confused and Richard looked a little pissed and disappointed.

* * *

><p><strong>The Next Morning<strong>

Rachel's assistant and friend Jenn walked into the office with a sticky note that said, _Richard Grayson is on the phone. He's called 3 times! _She shook her head no. Jenn rolled her eyes, walked out and came back with _another _full bouquet of roses. She looked up and mouthed for her to put them in the corner with the rest since she was on the phone with a potential client.

She got a text message and saw it was from Dick.

_I need to talk to you. Can we meet again?_

She shook her head and wrote back harshly tapping on the keys,

_GO __**TALK**__ TO YOUR NEW HOUSE!_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Ouch... I think someones just a teeny tiny bit upset. Hehe. Until next time, Read and Respond**

**Much Love and Respect,**

**~Poppie~  
><strong>


	5. Do Something

**A/N: She's alive. Next chapter. A choice is made!**

* * *

><p><strong>After the Bachelorette Party<strong>

Rachel stepped out of the limo after it pulled out near her apartment. Kori followed her. "Wait!" Kitten called. "Kori where are you going?" she asked.

"I'm going to crash with Rachel. We haven't had a sleepover in forever. But you go ahead Kat. The limo's already got instructions to bring you and the other girls home."

"Are you sure?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah. I mean Dick is going to be out all night with his buddies anyway."

"Okay." she moved to the apartment as the limo honked and Kori followed.

* * *

><p><strong>A Few Minutes Later<strong>

"So what's the deal with you and Jason?" Kori was sitting on the edge of Rachel's bathtub watching her clean her teeth. "Are you going to get married or something?" she asked with a goofy smile plastered on her face

"Stop it." Rachel sighed and continued brushing her teeth.

"What? Jason isn't marriage material?" she asked. Rachel looked at her seriously before washing out her mouth. The phone rang and Kori bolted up to answer it. "Who is calling at this ungodly hour?" she whined. Rachel ran to the phone and picked it up before Kori did.

"Hello?"

"_Rachel it's me. Please don't hang up." _Dick pleaded.

"Who is it?" Kori whispered. Rachel held up one finger.

"_I miss you. That's all I wanted to say. Can I come up? Please? I just want to talk about everything." _he asked, and even she had to admit, it was adorable when he begged.

"Who is it?" Kori yelled impatiently.

"Roy." Rachel lied.

"Roy?" she asked.

"_Roy? No. I- It's Dick. I'm downstairs. Can I come up?" _he was confused.

"Wait you're downstairs? No! No, no, no, no."

"He's downstairs?" Kori asked confused trying to figure out what was happening.

"Kori's here so you can't come up." she said quickly.

"And he wants to come up at three in the morning?" her eyes and mouth went wide at once.

"I'm gonna-" Rachel began but was cut off by Kori.

"Oh my god! Ew-" Kori jumped up and down.

"What?" Rachel asked not hearing Kori's previous out loud thoughts.

"Ewwwwwwwww." she shrieked. "You're having a fling with Roy?"

"I've gotta go." she hung up the phone and erased the caller ID.

Kori ran to the window screaming. Dick ran up against a wall and hid so she wouldn't see him.

"HEY ROY! WAY TO GO! I DIDN'T KNOW YOU HAD IT IN YOU, YA LITTLE SHITHEAD!"

Rachel locked the window and followed Kori into the living room. "Kori!" she scolded.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because… It just kind of happened."

"Just happened?"

* * *

><p><strong>Later That Night<strong>

The two women laid down and talked about lots of things before trying to fall asleep.

"You know people who were friends as kids almost always lose touch. I'm really glad we didn't." Kori nodded as she spoke.

"Me too." Rachel smiled a little bit.

"We never will right?" she asked.

"Nooo." she whispered reassuring her. If they've stuck together that long why wouldn't it go on forever?

"I don't think there's anyone who knows me like you do." she said truthfully. Almost scared. "Not even Dick. Its like you completely accept me."

"Why are you saying all of this Kor?" Rachel looked her in the eyes.

"I don't know. When you're about to get married you just kind of think of all your big moments in life and, you're in all of mine." she said tiredly.

"Kori. I have to tell you something." she continued not breaking eye contact with her, not even when she closed her eyes "It's something I did. Something horrible." she sighed. "It could hurt a lot of people and it could hurt me too."

"Rachel. I would never let anything hurt you. And you wouldn't let something hurt me right?"

"Never." Kori was lulled into sleep before Rachel could say anything else. Rachel tried to follow suit but she was too at war with everything to be successful.

* * *

><p><strong>The Next Morning<strong>

"Morning." Rachel greeted Kori who was already in the kitchen.

"Do you think I should marry Dick?" she asked in a panic.

"What? Where is this coming from?" Kori was almost in tears.

"I mean it. Do you think this is a good idea? Nobody knows me like you do. And you kind of know Dick too. So you have to tell me, am I about to do something dumb?"

"Kori." she started sympathetically.

"No I mean seriously. You know me. I do dumb shit sometimes. I mean, _really _dumb shit. I do love him. And I know what he sees in me." she ranted.

"What?" Rachel asked and Kori gave her a look. "You know what I mean."

"He's never met someone like me. I'm just like this free spirit. I don't let anything get to me. I mean I guess its because everything works out for me and I assume it always will." Rachel nodded and made a mental note that Kori, herself had noticed that as well. "And he's so serious and controlled. Like you! You know I make him lighter and he makes me heavier. In a good way. Does that make any sense at all?" Kori asked as she sat down next to her.

"Tons." Rachel nodded. "I think you should marry him." she said simply.

"I love you so much."

"I love you too."

Kori brought her in for a hug. "So then its okay that I cheated a little bit?"

"What?" Rachel yelled. "You-you did what?" she asked.

"I just- a little bit- kind of- YES! Okay? Yes. Once."

"With who?" her eyes even bigger than they usually were.

"A guy. From work. And you know me. It was just sex. And I felt terrible afterwards so that's good right?" she asked, looking for a little reassurance that what she did was okay.

"Sure." she nodded while speaking.

"Besides Dick hasn't had sex with me since before the Fourth of July." she let out a heavy sigh. "I feel so much better now though."

'He hasn't slept with her, since I have!' she thought. 'Yay!' then she looked down. 'But I just told her to marry him. Why me?'

* * *

><p><strong>After Lunch With Roy<strong>

"Holy crap! That's awesome. When are you going to tell him? Oh wait I'll tell him. Please let me tell him." Roy was getting a kick out of the whole thing.

"I'm not going to tell him. I already told Kori to marry him. I'm out."

"What?" he asked not believing her. "No way. She just told you she cheated on him. If there was any doubt before that you guys should be together its gone now. You have to tell him or I will."

"It's none of your business."

"I know. That's exactly why you should let me do it." she shook her head no. "Why do you always let her win?"

"Wow. Dramatic much?"

"No. No 'wow'. You know if the tables were turned she wouldn't think twice." he said without hesitation.

"Stop it. God, what is it with you two?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you always at each other's throats all the time. Why do you hate each other?" she honestly wanted to know.

"I don't hate her. I hate the fact that you always let her beat you."

"Its because she always wins! Okay? Kori. Anders. Always. Wins! She sees things. She wants them. She gets them! Roy she got into Notre Dame. Do you know how hard it is to get into Notre Dame? It! Is! Impossible! But she did it. Because she always, always wins!" she finished ranting.

"You're kidding right?" he asked. "You're not kidding."

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Did you see the acceptance letter? Cause I didn't see it. Do you remember when she asked that supermodel, Garth Fisher to the prom? And they sent a form letter saying he couldn't make it? And she showed off to everybody?"

"Of course."

"Then why didn't she show off that acceptance letter? I could recite the other letter, and that was a rejection! If she were _accepted_ to Notre Dame, why didn't I memorize that too?"

"Because-"

"Because she didn't get one. She wasn't accepted." she looked at him realizing it was true. "Look Rachel, you have to do something about Richard, because he's being a coward, and if he breaks your heart, I'm going to take a swing at him, then let him beat me up!"

"I'm going to be late for work." she walked faster.

"Good! Be late. Better yet, quit! At least that would be a decision. Rachel, you're all going to hell anyway, so you might as well do something for yourself." she gave him the finger before stopping at her workplace. "You deserve to be happy."

"You know what would make me happy? If you would just butt out! Please."

"Fine. I'll butt out. For now. Let me know how that goes." he walked off a little bit hurt. And Rachel looked guilty but headed back to work anyway.

* * *

><p><strong>Weekend at Jump<strong>

Roy sat in the chair watching Kori and Richard against Jason and Rachel playing a game of badminton. Kori served and Rachel missed.

"One to zip! Come on Rachel, I'm killing you here." Dick called.

"Ain't that the truth?" Roy called out and Rachel glared at him.

"Hey instead of making fun of Rachel why don't you help out your Juliet." Kori teased him.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Don't worry, she told me you're little secret lovers."

"Lovers?" Dick asked confused.

"Oh we're sharing secrets now?" Roy asked. "If it's about sharing secrets, I'm in."

"Roy." Rachel told him to sit down but he reached for Jason's racket.

"I've got an idea. How about it's us against you guys and we do a secret for every point." he suggested.

"I love that idea!" Kori said.

"Roy! Stop it!" Rachel looked dead at him.

"I'll serve." Roy served. They went back and forth and Roy lost it.

"Yay! Point for us! I've got a secret. Roy and Rachel are having sex!"

"What?" Roy and Dick asked at the same time. Kitten just sat there hurt and confused.

"I slept at Rachel's a few nights ago and someone showed up for a late night booty-call." Kori explained. Dick realized quickly what really happened.

"I called it! I knew it!" Jason said laughing.

"You told me you were gay!" She threw a glass on the sand breaking it before stomping away.

"That makes a little more sense." Jason tilted his head thinking about it a little bit more.

"You know what? This whole thing is getting a little too competitive." Rachel tried to stop before things got ugly.

"Rachel's right. Lets go and-" Dick started

"No way!" Roy said laughing. "This is way too much fun!" he laughed. Serve it up Dick. Seeing no way out of it, he served and the two men went at it. They both ended it rolling on the ground for hits and moving the girls out of the way until it was just them on the court. Roy jumped up and spiked the birdie into the sand and cheered. "Alright. My turn. Why don't you do this one Rachel? "

"Roy. Shut it!"

"No? You don't want to? I will then. Alright here goes. Rachel- AHHHH!" Rachel landed a blow to his face with the racket. Jason busted out laughing. He stood up slowly and walked to the edge of the water. He ripped off his shirt and dipped it into the cool ocean before covering his nose.

Rachel followed him and shoved his shoulder with one hand. "What the hell?" she yelled at him.

"Me!" he asked. "You broke my nose!"

"I didn't break your nose."

"And what is this about us sleeping together?" he asked still pissed off. "Jesus, Rachel leave me out of your damn soap opera."

"No one asked you to get involved in the first place you jackass!"

"Really? No one asked me? So then why have I been listening to the same bullshit all summer long! Rachel, DO _SOMETHING_! Because this is just pathetic! You know what? You guys deserve each other, because he's not going to do shit, you're not going to ask to him to and even if you did, lets be honest, Kori would _never_ let you have him." he said spreading the tough love on thick before turning around and walking away.

"You're an asshole!" she cried out.

"Yeah maybe I am. But I'm the only asshole here who gives a shit about you!"

* * *

><p><strong>At The Local NightClub<strong>

Rachel watched Kori and Dick argue about what happened today. She turned around and saw Kitten standing there.

"He's not really gay. Is he?" she asked sadly.

"No." Rachel told her honestly. "And we weren't ever together." she made sure she squashed the rumor Kori believed to be true.

"He's never going to love me is he?"

Rachel smiled apologetically. "I don't think so."

"Oh well. At least I tried right?" she smiled sadly and took a flower from her hair.

"Yeah." she walked away and Dick walked up next to Rachel.

"You told Roy." he said more than asked.

"No." she assured him. "He guessed."

"Kori keeps asking me what happened out there on the beach today."

"You know what?" Rachel started already irritated, "Go work it out with her." she picked up her purse and walked out into the rain.

"Rachel wait!" he called after her. "What am I supposed to do here?" he followed her.

"Don't do what your supposed to do. Do whatever you want to do. You want to teach? Then teach! Live the way you want to live. And if you don't want to be the guy who lives in a huge house that he hates then don't! Or do! But don't ask me about it. Just decide." She walked fully in the rain getting soaked. He just stood there and watched her. She stopped a few yards up and remembered a similar scenario happening in the past. In fact it was the same night, she introduced Dick and Kori.

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>No I'm serious you have a great laugh." Kori complimented Dick and he blushed a little bit.<strong>_

"_**Thank you."**_

"_**So why did you want to be a lawyer? I mean what kid says 'I want to be a lawyer when I grow up?'"**_

_**Before he could answer Rachel walked up to them after coming from the bathroom and hearing them talk. **_

"_**I'm sorry, I'm going to take off guys." she picked up her things.**_

"_**What? Where are you going?" Kori asked.**_

"_**I'm just really tired. This week has been insane with all those finals. You know?" **_

"_**I'll take you home." Dick offered.**_

"_**No. Its okay. Stay." Rachel declined.**_

"_**Are you sure? It's really no trouble."**_

"_**Stop it." she sat him down by the shoulders. "Have fun with Kori and I'll see you guys later. Don't let me spoil your fun." she turned to Kori. "I'll call you in the morning." then back to Dick. "You were incredible this week. Thank you so much. I owe you one." she walked out of the restaurant quickly. Tears welled up a little bit and Rachel wanted to hit herself for it.**_

"_**Rachel." she heard Dick call her name. She wiped her eyes and pretended not to hear him. He caught up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"**_

"_**Okay with what?"**_

"_**With this." he gestured to the restaurant where Kori was waiting.**_

"_**Yeah. I'm okay. Kori's great. You'd like her. You never know, right?" her voice cracked a little bit.**_

"_**Yeah." he looked off with a shrug. "Good night Rachel."**_

"_**Night." she turned and walked away as the rain fell.**_

* * *

><p>Deciding in that instant not to walk away again she turned back, took off her shoes and ran all the way back to the outside of the club.<p>

"Dick!" she called him and he came outside.

"What's wrong?"

"I shouldn't have left." she told him point blank. "I wasn't okay with it. I never should have left you and Kori alone."

"Rachel I-"

"No, Let me say it. Cancel the wedding. Tell her you can't marry her because Richard, I love you. I've always loved you. I didn't want to say it before. But I love you." He smiled "So much. I'm telling you now before it really is too late." she laid everything on the line. He was still smiling but when he thought about what his father said to him, he couldn't do it.

"I can't. Rachel, I'm so sorry. I can't." he shook his head.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Awwwww. A decision has been made. Review Responses to all will come next chapter. Sorry I didn't post them, but I've barely got time to type _this_. **

**Much Love and Respect**

**~Poppie~  
><strong>


	6. Damn Jacket

TheDreamChaser: Me too. lolz. Hope you like this chapter.

Mewgirl223:Well, wouldn't you be mad too? lolz.

RxRFannnnn:Hope, you like this chapter, and continue to keep the rest of the story a mystery.

Latezz123: Thanks for the advice :D. Its kind of too late to start any other subplot but i'll try to do that for the other stories I'm working on. I really thank you for the review.

TheMaskedShupeteer: Well damn. Someone's mad. lolz. Well I'm sure everybody else who's on the anti-Richard team will gladly take a cut of the profit on that testosterone of his. lolz

TheDreamChaser: I wouldn't say that... I'd SCREAM IT! thanks for the reviews

teentitanslover4ever:Awww. I'm sorry, and I hope that this chapter makes up for that.

* * *

><p>She went back home that same night. She lye on the 'bed' that was on her rooftop, thinking about everything and nothing until she fell asleep. And by the next morning, she was back to work.<p>

Within a couple more weeks the flowers he had sent to her were wilting. She had told Jenn to stop taking care of them since the Fourth of July fiasco. She picked up her office mail and found one of the invitations to the wedding. She sunk even lower in her chair, deflated and ready to give up completely. She called Roy and got his voicemail. She left him a message stating that she's be on the next plane out to London. Before she knew it, she was going down an escalator in Europe and seeing him standing with a card that said in big bold letters, **'RACHEL'**. She mouthed quickly, 'I'm sorry.' In turn he flipped the same card over and it said in small meek letters, 'me too. J' Rachel laughed slightly and when she reached the bottom of the escalator she hugged him.

"Thank god you said it first. Because that would have been really embarrassing." She presented him with a bag of their regular orders from where they went to lunch everyday. "Are you trying to make me cry Roth?"

"No. But its around lunch time so why break tradition?" she asked him. He smiled brightly and accepted the bag before something came to mind. "Not that I really care, but why are you here?"

"I just had to get away for a while."

"This close to the wedding? Kori's probably freaking out." he said kind of amused.

"_You're __**where**__?" _she yelled while she got her roots touched up. _"It's a week before my wedding and you're in friggin' London?"_

"Yeah I know, I'm sorry I…." she trailed off looking to Roy for help. He wrote down on a napkin, 'Your fiancé's a douche and I just need time.' she gave him a 'not funny look.' and opted for the last part. "I just need some time."

"_You're my maid of honor, and you needed time? Are you kidding me?" _she asked as if Rachel were the insane one.

"I- uh-" she looked to him again and he pointed to a new option, 'I'm madly in love w/Roy!' She slapped the back of his neck and listened to Kori again.

"_Rachel, the band sucks, the caterer doesn't know shit, my dress might make me look fat! You need to get back here right now! Right now!" _she said like a spoiled child.

"Kori," she began but was cut off with a very loud and commanding,

"_Right! Naaaoow!"_

After pausing for a moment, Rachel finally said,_ "No!"_ and hung up the phone.

"Wow." Roy clapped for her.

* * *

><p><strong>Back With Kori<strong>

"What the fuck?" Kori asked aloud.

"Do you need me to be your maid of honor?" Kitten asked hopefully. Karen looked at her seriously.

"Who always invites her?" she whispered.

* * *

><p><strong>London<strong>

"I've always thought about Kori getting married before me." she flipped through Roy's photo album of the three of them in elementary school. Then as they grew so did their group, expanding and expanding through high school and college. "But I don't think I can stand next to them while they make those promises to each other. While she says my words." she closed the book she looking through angrily.

"I still think you should have told Dick, she cheated on him."

"No. I didn't want him to pick me by default. I wanted to be his first choice. Or someone's first choice."

"Yeah. You are."

"I know your trying to be nice, but stop it please. I know I'm not his first choice."

"No. I mean." he scratched the back of his head suddenly nervous. "You are someone's first choice." he sat across from her. She just looked at him shocked suddenly realizing there was a reason he put up with her. "What? You never wondered about me?" he asked. "I don't know how to say this." he sighed. "Rachel, I like you a lot. I've always liked you. Then when another guy came into the picture, I liked you even more. You are…..home…for me." she smiled softly. "Don't worry this isn't love. I would know. Then again my kind of love isn't the overbearing kind. I mean when I'm in love, I drink any old beer and watch television the same exact way I always do." he let out a soft laugh.

"Roy?"

"I don't know, maybe I just miss you Rae." he shook his head "You've fallen for someone else. I think that you still are in love with him." she nodded slowly and walked over to him. She gave him a hug and sat down next to him rubbing his back comfortingly. "Damn." he said breaking the silence. "I knew I should've gone for Kitten." Rachel snorted and let her head rest on his shoulder.

* * *

><p>"Roy." Rachel called him the next morning as he poured them coffee and tea, "I'm going back."<p>

"Well I think we both knew you weren't going to miss that wedding."

"No I'm going back for her." she shook her head. "I'm not this person. I can't just do whatever I want and not care about other people's feelings."

"You seem to have no problem doing it to yourself." he pointed out.

"Besides that fact, Kori, didn't do anything wrong. I did."

"Rachel, I can't listen to this 'Daddy beats me because he loves me.' crap anymore."

"But this isn't me being pathetic anymore." she sat across from him. "I always thought Kori was the one who took everything from me. But it's really just me who's giving stuff away to her. She is my best friend. And I'm going to be there for her. I'm going to that wedding." she finished. And he looked at her understanding.

"Then you win." she smiled.

* * *

><p>Rachel unloaded her stuff from the taxi cab when he reached her apartment. The stairs were blocked by a mail truck so she waited a little while for it to move. It whirred away to reveal Dick was sitting at the bottom step waiting for her. He looked up at her and stood up before they walked towards each other.<p>

"How did you-?"

"I called your office." he explained. "Jenn told me that you'd be here around now and I wanted to see you as soon as you got back."

"Well you have to go. Because I can't do this anymore. She deserves better. So do you, and so do I." she climbed the steps with her suitcase.

"I called off the wedding." she turned to face him. "I told her I couldn't marry her." she smiled a little bit but pretended to still be upset.

"When?"

"A couple hours ago." he shrugged it off. But she looked at him proud and happy.

"Well what did she say?" she asked him after they made their way upstairs.

"She was pretty pissed off. Mostly about what people will think." he covered his nose which Rachel noticed had a small scar on it. "She threw a few things." He took off his jacket and threw it down on the bench next to the door revealing a small gash on his arm. "She got creative." he chuckled nervously.

"Did you tell her about us?"

"She asked if there was somebody else." he nodded. "I said no." she looked downcast. "Because I'm not sure if there still is." he continued. "That's a decision that's up to you completely."

"I don't know what to say."

"I don't expect anything." he said honestly. "I don't really deserve it. I mean, I didn't want to hurt a lot of people. But I just wanted to thank you. You are the only person who's asked me what I wanted and not cared what the answer was, as long as it made me happy. And I also wanted to apologize. For being such a moron years ago outside that bar and last week in Jump. I made the worst decisions of my life there." he moved a little bit closer. "Basically, we shouldn't have conversations outside of bars and nightclubs anymore." she laughed at that. "That is if there is still an us." she kissed him sweetly and looked him in the eyes.

"There was always an us, wasn't there?" she whispered and he nodded before he kissed her back. There was a knock on the door.

"Rachel!" Kori whined from the other side. "Open up!"

"Kori?" she asked confused. "How did you get in the building?"

"The fucking pizza guy let me in, who cares? Let me in, I need to talk to you!" Rachel rolled her eyes and looked around making sure Richard was out of sight.

"Yeah. I'm just changing. Give me a second!"

"Ugh! I've seen your ass already just open the door!" Rachel did so as she pretended to just be pulling on her shirt. "I called off the wedding." she announced.

"You did?" Rachel asked knowing she was lying.

"Well technically, Dick said it first but I was thinking it way before him." she barged in and sat on a nearby sofa.

"I think I need some air to process that. Do you want to go for a walk?" she left the door open trying to allow Dick to escape.

"No." she shook her head. "I need to sit down." Rachel closed the door and stood by it. "Okay now before I tell you what I came here to tell you, I just want to say, that I'm not the only one being dishonest here."

"What am I being dishonest about Kori?" she asked still nervous.

"Oh please. Give me a little credit here Rachel!" she continued shaking her head. "Kitten told me you lied about Roy. I know for an absolute fact that you're not sleeping with Jason, so what? Are you making up stories to make me jealous?" she asked. Rachel wanted to do nothing less than rip her condescending tone from her body but she kept calm. "You know I'm more sexual than you, I always have been."

"I-I wasn't -you just-" she was babbling and then something crossed her mind. "How do you know whether or not I slept with Jason?" she asked suspiciously.

Kori moved her eyes to the side and smiled like she had been caught in a lie. "Well you told me he was circumcised."

"Okay. And?"

"And he is not."

"Jason is the guy you slept with?" she asked.

"That's what I wanted to tell you."

"When?"

"That Fourth of July weekend." she said standing up to get a bottle of water from the fridge. She explained as she walked. "Well, I mean we were both lonely and drunk. And then when it was over, we both felt bad about it. When it was over, we agreed never to do it again. Then of course, we did it again. Twice. Or more." she took a sip of water.

"You slept with him more than once." she said more than asked.

Kori nodded before swallowing. "Jason and I have a deep connection. It's like, genetic." she said blissfully ignorant.

"Genetic?"

Realizing it was wrong she tried again, "Chemical. Whatever, I'm not a word person." she sighed. "My point is, I'm going to need you now more than ever."

"Why?"

"I took a test."

"You're pregnant?"

"I am. It's insane. And good. Jason, has been amazing. He's not what you'd think, ya know?" she shook her head. "Yes I know he's a caveman. A total caveman, but one time, he made this little splint for a chipmunk's broken leg." she scrunched up her face in adoration, "Is that not the sweetest thing ever?"

"Yeah. Sure."

"I've gotta go though. He's downstairs waiting. I love you so much."

Rachel stood there in stunned silence. Before walking out, Kori stood by the door and turned back. "It's crazy how things work out. Isn't it?" she just nodded in response before leaving. Rachel felt awful, and was going just about to start searching for Dick and telling him that he could come into the open.

But before she could take three steps forward, there was a knock on the door. Rachel jumped a little bit in surprise and answered it quickly. She opened the door and looked up to see Kori standing there with a confused and knowing look at the same time.

"Is that Dick's jacket?" she looked to the one thrown down onto the stool. He had put it there when he showed her the cut. "What is it doing here?"

"Oh he just left it at the restaurant. I must've picked it up." she shook it off recovering from her moment of shock. But Kori didn't buy it.

"No. No, he didn't. Cause he was wearing it today." she said matter of factly. "What is it doing here?" she asked and got no answer. "What is it doing here?" she repeated.

"Kori." Rachel's voice was small.

"Where is he?"

"Kori." she shook her head not wanting to say another word.

"Where is he?" Rachel didn't step away from the doorframe as Kori tried to step in. "Where is he?" she yelled and banged her fist on the door. She pushed past Rachel and called out his name. "Richard. Dick!"

"Kori, please don't!"

"Richard!"

"Just don't please!" Rachel pleaded.

Kori went on a rampage. Checking the showers, the bedroom, the closets until finally he stepped out from the kitchen. She confronted him immediately. She was bawling her eyes out.

"You lied to me!"

"Me!" he asked. "Kori you're pregnant with Jason's baby!"

"No! How could you do this to me?" she asked, her throat raw from crying. "And with her! With Rachel? Rachel, how could _you_ do this to me?"

"I never meant to hurt you!" she pleaded close to tears. "I'm so sorry!" she tried her best to apologize but Kori didn't want to hear anymore.

"I hate you." she pointed to her. "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you! IhateyouIhateyouIhateyou." she said it until the words seemed to blend. "I never want to speak to you again." She slammed the door leaving the two silent.

* * *

><p><strong>Two Months Later<strong>

Rachel picked up Dick's dry-cleaning as a deal. She picked it up and he would take care of dinner for the rest of the week. She walked down the street and saw red hair coming her way. She stood in front of her. Kori met her eyes still carrying hatred after all the time they spent away from each other. She wore a fall dress that flowed in the breeze. She couldn't see the baby belly but she was sure it was there.

"Hey" she got no response so she continued, "You look good Kori."

"Clearly I'm going to be one of those girls who only carry in the belly." she smiled very slightly. Then said viciously, trying to hurt Rachel. "I bought him that shirt." she pointed to the white one in the bag.

"I'm really sorry Kori." Rachel said sincerely, not letting her statement phase her.

"You're really sorry you slept with my fiancé?"

"No." she shook her head seriously. "For hurting you. But that is the only thing I will apologize to you for."

"You always were jealous of me." she said. "Ever since I got into Notre Dame."

Rachel shook her head, but only said, "You're right. I was always jealous. Kori, I miss you. Everyday." Kori walked away. She turned back and told her,

"You know, for the first time in my life, I'm happy." Rachel nodded "Really. I am happy." she pressed her hand against her stomach and Rachel smiled.

"Good." she walked away and looked back once and waved. Rachel waved back and decided to try to call her later. Just then her phone rang. "Hey, where are you? Okay. I'm turning the corner now." she turned and saw Dick sitting on a bench. She kissed him and he took the dry cleaning from her. She whispered to him as they walked home, in an effort to tease him, "Imagine, I'm holding you're hand right now." But it backfired.

"Why imagine?" he took her hand in his and she flushed pink again. "You're blushing again."

"No I'm not." she removed her hand and ran down to their apartment. He chased after her and they made it to the elevator before kissing each other again.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Heavy. Don't worry I'm not ending it here. I promise! Until next chapter,**

**Much Love and Respect  
><strong>

**~Poppie~  
><strong>


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